Alaska Heat Wave: Unusual Record Breaking Temperatures they aren’t Used To

Alaska has been baking in record high temperatures that aren’t normal for this time of year. Some towns are even hotter than any town in the entire state of Florida.

The high for Anchorage on Tuesday was 81 degrees, which broke the city’s record of 80 that was set in 1926. Mid-June will normally bring highs in the 60’s, at most.

Other parts of the state have been even hotter. Temperatures around Talkeetna, 75 miles north of Anchorage, reached 96 degrees. Breaking the record high of 91 that was set June 14, 1969 and June 26, 1953.

While some of us are used to this crazy heat during that summer months, and may actually enjoy it, Scott Sistek, a meteorologist for Seattle’s KOMO News wrote, “Remember air conditioning is in extreme short supply there, if not non-existent.”

The Weather Channel is predicting that “the hot dome of high pressure responsible for this weather will break down later this week. Marine influences will cool coastal towns first; the heat will hold on for several more days in the interior.”

“The persistent heat over Alaska is just waiting for a spark,” the U.S. National Weather Service Alaskan division said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “With very high to extreme fire danger over a large part of the largest state, thunderstorms will be more likely in the coming days.”

Meanwhile, climate Central reporter Andrew Freedman reports, “Alaska is one of the fastest-warming states in the U.S., largely because the nearby Arctic region is warming rapidly in response to man-made global warming and natural variability. In recent years, Alaska has had to contend with large wildfires, melting permafrost, and reduced sea ice, among other climate-related challenges.”

A global temperature analysis from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies shows that temperatures are rising faster in the Arctic compared to areas closer to the equator.

The cause of this “Arctic amplification” of warming is believed to be from loss of sea ice. When bright and reflective ice melts, it gives way to a darker ocean; this amplifies the warming trend because the ocean surface absorbs more heat from the Sun than the surface of snow and ice.

The heat isn’t the only thing Alaskans are experiencing. With the heat wave comes an invasion of mosquitoes. At many local stores people have emptied the shelves of mosquito repellent, which is up five times more the usual amount bought.

This heatwave follows a number of cooler summers.

Unusual Heat Wave Bakes Alaska

Alaska is dealing with an unusual heat wave. Temperatures have reach 70 in Anchorage almost every day for more than a week, while a more remote area saw a high of 96.

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